Vacation

After being tended to by Mending Hearts, Dee was cleared to the point he could finally walk around. She did tell him to take it easy, and that he couldn’t leave, so all he could really do was pace around the bunker and worry.

He was correct in his earlier assumptions: this was one of the World War II bunkers on the island. He walked around the inside, examining the faded propaganda posters left behind by the Imperial Japanese who occupied the island, and noted the vines seeping in from the firing ports nearby where the jungle had overgrown near it.

It’s not in the best of shape, but it’s sturdy enough to keep the undead out for the time being. If it can withstand shellfire from warships, it can withstand the hammering fists of a thousand ravenous zombies right out of a video game, right?

As he exited the area that had been turned into a medical bay, he noticed several other ponies laying on beds wrapped in blankets; who they were he had no idea. Wandering further, he soon found himself in the main area with the entrance firmly sealed and guarded by a Wonderbolt member in full armor. He didn’t know their names, not recognizing them from the show, , but it looked like they had sent an entire squad to the island. But how the hell did they get here? He still had no idea.

Looking over to his left, he noticed the workshop area of the bunker was populated by equipment brought in by the Wonderbolts: large wooden crates etched with the Wonderbolts emblem. One of them was open and, unable to contain his curiosity, he walked over and peered inside.

He blinked.

Long wooden rifles, single shot muskets. His mind flickered back to the history books of the American Revolution and the breech-loading rifles of the British Army during the 1770s. They were powerful guns for their time, and he imagined being hit by their shots would still ruin your whole day, but he didn’t exactly expect to see a bunch of anthro ponies carrying them around.

“You guys are armed with these?” He couldn’t help but ask the Wonderbolt standing guard nearby, who turned to regard him.

She clicked her tongue disdainfully. “Like you would know anything about them? Don’t even think about touching them, male, or you might hurt yourself.”

The sneering comment made his eyebrow twitch, and the inner gun nut in his heart screamed out.

“I actually know quite a bit, thank you,” he replied, turning to regard the mare with narrowed eyes. “I’ll have you know I used to own something like thi-”

“I doubt that. You’re just a male, what would you know?” She scoffed and waved him off with a laugh as her wings shuffled, armored up just like the rest of her, albeit with some other kind of material that looked strange to him. “You wouldn’t be able to fire it, let alone handle it.”

He snorted and spat onto the wall nearby before walking away with a shake of his head, badly wanting to prove her wrong but knowing that he didn’t need to be making any more enemies just then. “Whatever.”

Still steaming, he left the main room and went over to one of the ladders, deciding to climb it to the second level. He felt the eyes of the mare behind him boring holes into him, but he did his best to ignore it.

After peering over the edge to see what was up top, he spotted some more ponies… but they weren’t Wonderbolts.

“Hey look! It’s the monkey guy!”

“Scootaloo, he ain’t no monkey!”

“I don’t know Bloom, he kinda looks like one.”

“Guys, he can hear you ya know.”

“He can?!”

“Why didn’t you warn us, Sweetie!”

“Girls, please.”

“Holy…” was all he could think to say as he recognized anthro versions of Cutie Mark Crusaders, alongside two other adult mares: a moderately purple mare with long two tone hair sitting next to the trio of teenage fillies, and the other a gray mare with black hair and regarding him with curious eyes.

“You’ve finally woken up?” Octavia spoke.

Cheerilee and Octavia?

He blinked and finally finished his climb with a groan, and looked over the five carefully. “I, uh… have, yeah.”

The man looked over at one of the gunports that peered out into the island, and he walked over to it. He looked outside and saw the resort, the roads, the trees, thankfully they were high up enough that no infected could reach them, as the bunker was built into the face of a cliff. He could see the bunker overlooking the ocean nearby, the beaches, where were they exactly?

“We were fortunate enough to have been found by the commander of the Wonderbolts,” Octavia spoke to him and stood up, slowly making her way over to the port. “We found you when we landed here by accident.”

He flicked his eyes over to her. “How did you guys end up here?”

Octavia looked out of the port and gestured into the distance. He looked and followed her line of sight before his eyes landed on what looked like a small yacht anchored just off the shore, hidden near some rocks.

“I was going to Haywaii originally to watch my friend’s show, before I had discovered she had gone missing. It quickly turned into a search and rescue mission which I was financing and heading along with my ship’s crew.” She gestured behind her to the fillies. “The children behind me had snuck onto the ship against the wishes of their guardians in search of their destinies… so we’re stuck with them, now. And as for Cheerilee?”

Octavia glanced behind her to see the teacher, who was awkwardly rubbing the back of her head.

“Oh. Well, I’m a fan of DJ-PON3, actually, so I wanted to try and help.”

Octavia tittered and looked back to Dee. “I offered her a ride as we were all going the same route… however we ended up here instead, it’s peculiar.” The mare rubbed her chin and looked back at the other ponies with a curious gaze. “We should have arrived on schedule, yet here we are on this strange island… it’s beautiful, but not on any of the maps my captain possesses.”

“We only just learned recently that they had all gone missing before we left port. It was dangerous to bring the children along, but now that they’re here…”

“Rainbow will get us out of this!” Scootaloo declared, standing up suddenly. “I just know it!”

Dee sniffled and looked at them all before turning to Octavia, saying, “DJ-PON3? You mean Vinyl Scratch, right?”

Octavia whipped her head around to him. “You’ve seen her?”

“I know her, actually.” He smiled briefly at the memory of the brave mare who didn’t let her deafness hold her back, either in her profession or aiding her friends. “I ran into her a few weeks ago when I crash-landed here, fighting for our lives to get to safety… I owe her my life, honestly. She saved me plenty of times. I saw her in action, and she’s absolutely incredible.”

Octavia smiled warmly and brushed aside some of her long, dark hair. “She truly is, I’m very happy to hear it. But… is she alright?” She noticed him hesitate.

“The last I saw of her, she was.” Dee nodded cautiously, which allowed Octavia to breathe out a sigh and visibly relax herself.

“You have no idea how much that alleviates my stress.” She sighed and looked back outside. “She’s such a reckless mare by nature, between her deafness and fearlessness. But I am glad to know she is well, even in a situation like this.”

“Hopefully Spitfire will find them all. And if that ship is in good shape… we could finally get off this damn island,” Dee commented and allowed himself a speck of hope to flicker into existence, it looked like they would finally be able to escape!

“Yes,” Octavia agreed.

Yes!

“But-”

NO!

He had to fight the stifled scream threatening to escape his chest as Octavia popped his bubble. “My captain and the crew suffered injuries when we landed here. A party disembarked to the island to find the locals, only to return with half their number and the captain dreadfully injured.”

Of course, for fucks sake they don’t know they’re dealing with the undead.

“They ran across some kind of beasts that injured them, they barely made it back to the ship before the Wonderbolts found us.” Octavia looked pale upon mentioning it, hugging herself and by proxy, causing her large breasts to squish together, drawing his eyes for a brief moment as their mass bulged out the top of her work shirt. “They were treated by their medic, but they’re now quite ill and in no shape to pilot the ship.”

Dee froze. Clearing his throat and tearing his eyes from her bosom—he could just see the bump of a nipple and even the barest hint of the surrounding areola as a slightly raised area against the backdrop of her greater breasts—he looked back up to her. “What kind of injuries?” He asked as he looked at the yacht again. Even from this distance, he couldn’t see anyone on deck, but then a sinking feeling hit him. “Wait—were they bitten?”

Octavia looked startled. “W-yes… yes they were, actually. But how did you-?”

That wasn’t good, he realized, his heart beginning to pound in his chest. “Fuck, where are they now?”

“They’re down below in the makeshift infirmary you were in. Why do you ask?”

Shit!

Dee blinked again before whirling around and running. Not even bothering with the ladder, he leapt down from the second floor of the bunker and landed on the hard concrete floor in a now well-practiced roll. The pain that coursed through him almost took him out, but the adrenaline managed to keep him going.

“Hey! Watch it!” The guard shouted, storming over to him. “You’re going to hu-”

He shoved her aside and sprinted back to the room he had been in, through a metal door to try and find Mending Hearts.

Skidding to a stop, he didn’t see her on the bed he was on prior to leaving.

He froze as the grotesque sounds of crunching and chewing reached his ears, and the color left his face as he slowly looked over to the other beds and the ponies on them, or the lack of them.

In the floor in a pool of crimson was the Wonderbolt, helmet torn from her head as four large stallions were tearing into her chest and stomach, pulling free her entrails and guts and devouring them. The mare’s face was frozen in petrified horror, unable to even speak as an arm reached out to him.

“H-help.”

One of the stallions looked up from his meal to gaze at Dee, red bloodshot eyes glared into his own before a scream left the now infected monster’s throat.

Dee’s scream joined the monster’s.

ooo000---000ooo

The rain had finally let up at long last, and Rainbow wasn’t sure how long it had been since the fight at the Tower.

Not long enough. She let out a shaky breath as she poked her head out from behind the rock she was hiding behind, scanning the area ahead of her.

She had been forced further north by a horde of monsters with many of the sprinting undead nipping at her heels the entire time. Silently thanking Spitfire for all the stamina training she’d put the Wonderbolts through, she eventually managed to lose them before finding herself hiding along the coastline near a cave system surrounding the beach. Overhang rocks and foliage provided cover from the sun and earlier storm, but it seemed to have done very little to stop the destruction of several yachts and personal boats from being upturned and sunk, or washed ashore.

Dozens of bodies were floating in the water with scores more hanging off the railings of the yachts, torn into by the surrounding undead populating the coastline. They were generally wearing either a combination of swimwear and tropical attire or virtually nothing at all.

Some were even naked; she had to avert her eyes from their bloodied dangling bits.

Trying her best to shut out the carnage from her thoughts, Rainbow examined the ships and boats that crashed onto the shore, and the ones still floating out in the water. She saw the latter as a possible means of escape, but given their condition and the storms that seemed to constantly assault the island from all sides, she didn’t have any hopes of getting any of them working. Not that she knew how to sail anyway, unless it was an airship; she had some basic knowledge around piloting one of those. But one for the ocean?

It’s the same as flying, just… a lot more risk involved for those who can’t fly.

Swallowing hard, she snuck out from hiding and decided to start looking for something she could use for a weapon. Maybe something abandoned among the luggage strewn from the ships that washed on shore? Or maybe a discarded weapon from a previous survivor?

Whatever the case was, she needed to find a weapon to help her get back to the others, to get back to the Tower.

To take down Liam.

The name tasted bitter on her tongue and she grabbed a hold of her arm, where a crudely wrapped bandage stifled the bleeding from a wound she had gotten, not from an infected, but from a human survivor.

She spat and moved along the sands, checking each container she found lying on the beach.

But her search was fruitless. All she found was useless swimming attire, a few wrapped snacks and water bottles, some wallets and purses. Aside from the food, she didn’t have a use for most of it, so she packed away the supplies and kept moving, carefully avoiding the undead who were grouped around one boat.

I have to find a way back to the others, especially to Dee. She needed to find out if they—and especially he—were okay.

If he was killed, I don’t know what I’ll do… The mare climbed up past some rocks to get out of reach and search some more containers, finding a few different looking ones. They were black crates with lettering on them that looked unfamiliar to her, but most likely belonged to some of the ships below. She crouched beside one and examined it more closely, and found some symbols on it she couldn’t quite decipher: an octagon emblazoned on the wood with every side curving inward.

Weird. She reached for the clasps and undid them, opening up the lid to see what was inside.

Inside of the crate she found some black ropes neatly bundled up inside, alongside climbing hooks and other related and assorted gear. Huh. Nothing too useful but deciding it might come in handy for later, she grabbed what she could. After tucking a few smaller items into her backpack, she lashed the rope around her, hoping she could find a use for it when she found the others.

The other crates had similar items in them, stuff for climbing and others containing strange black devices. This time, they took the form of a very small square with four small rotors on each wing in the shape of an X, with small handheld objects inside. She couldn’t even begin to guess what exactly it was, but maybe Dee would know?

She closed it back up before checking it for an easier way to carry, and shortly discovered one in the form of a collapsible handle hidden on the top. Hefting it and finding it wasn’t too heavy, Rainbow decided to take it with her on her way back to the others. It wasn’t a weapon but the case seemed sturdy enough; maybe she could find a use for it later on her trek back?

The shoreline she was on didn’t seem to have anything else of importance that grabbed her attention. The ships that had run aground were battered from the elements, half sunk further out, while others still afloat had far too many zombies on them to warrant risking her life to try and clear them in the hopes of having a way off the island.

A sigh left her as she turned and started for the opposite side of the shore. Her search complete, she found herself eager to try and find some other way around the horde that chased her. A way to get back to her friends.

Back to Dee.

Her heart felt funny when she thought about him, and she had to shake her head before smiling at the warmth she sensed within her just to visualize his features.

“To think I’d start feeling this way for a human, even though I still barely know him.” She shook her head again as she moved along the rocks high above, safely out of reach of the zombies down below who still swarmed around the beached boats and personal luxury yachts.

Despite the not-too-distant danger, her thoughts lingered on the human male. She couldn’t fathom why she’d been so instantly attracted to him, especially since she had been in a relationship with Soarin and messed around with a couple of others during her time in the Wonderbolts. Granted, she wasn’t monogamous by any means. Most mares weren’t given the herd lifestyle and marriage laws of Equestria, yet she found herself feeling strangely giddy whenever Dee came to mind.

A rock tumbled when she stumbled briefly; a slight scraping noise left her as the rock fell down below and smacking one of the monsters in the head. Freezing and holding her breath as it looked up but saw nothing, she was afraid to relax or even so much as twitch for another minute until she was satisfied he hadn’t detected her She glanced up and watched the waves crashing against the shore, the rocks, pushing against beached boats further onto land with each push. Another scan of the roiled water from her position didn’t reveal any that seemed usable without major repairs, they all appeared to have been damaged too badly by the previous storm and being tossed against the shore.

If only they could have been useful. If only there was one boat that was still intact and free of these creatures…

But the thought was lost and her ears twitched. It was hard to tell over the pounding surf and sharp breeze, but she thought she heard something in the distance—a scream?

Pointing her ears in that direction, it wasn’t immediately repeated. She was about to write it off as another infected crying out, but then she heard it again, more distinctly. And this time, there were words that underlay the cries of terror; they sounded more like-

“Aaaaah!”

“Run for it!”

Those were not infected. But they were definitely being chased by them.

Rainbow’s wings sprang out and she leapt from the rock she was on to soar above the rest of the infected that had wandered around her current position. She flew through the air with whatever strength she had left in her wings, but unable to gain any lift in this magic-poor place except by the strongest and most exhausting flaps that would quickly drain her strength, she mostly let herself glide.

To the west she flew through the wide caverns that fronted the ocean and created some sheltered anchorages, where she passed by beached boats and yachts and small groups of monsters before she reached the entrance to the cave from the other side.

Once she got closer, she flew around to one of the naturally formed stone pillars that supported the mountain above and grabbed onto one of the rocks for a moment. She scoped out the area ahead of her, her keen eyesight letting her peer far enough to see the nearby docks and a fenced in warehouse.

But she wasn’t focused on that.

She found her rose-colored eyes zeroing in on two small figures dashing across the sand, pursued by a large and bloodied figure.

She was shocked to recognize the two; a set of pegasus twins with a yellow color palette and green manes and tails. They were two feisty souls she’d met previously and instantly liked; the leaders of her fan club in the town of Hope Hollow.

Pickle and Barley Barrel.

“Holy—” Rainbow dropped from the pillar and glided down and angled herself down to fall faster, using gravity to send her flying out of the cavern and close in on the duo.

Behind them she saw the infected was closing in, and had almost gotten within grabbing distance.

Come on! She silently urged them, beating her wings harder in an effort to reach them first.
She flew in low until she almost touched the ground to pick up some additional speed and lift, and thankfully the two spotted her approaching as she took dead aim at the infected chasing them.

“Pickle! Watch out!” Barley shouted as she pushed her brother out of the way.

That’s the way! Rainbow praised with her thoughts. She grinned and twisted mid-flight, using all the speed she had gathered to slam her heavy boots into the chest of the infected monster, putting all her considerable might into the strike.

Given that means her roughly fifty-kilos of weight were moving well over normal flying speeds?

Even if he was far bigger than her, he didn’t stand a chance.

There was a sound of snapping ribs as the monster was sent flying through the air with a screech, soaring across the expanse of beach before slamming into the ground with a grisly sound, twisting and contorting as his bones broke and shattered before he smashed into a rock with a sickly crunch.

Rainbow twisted again and landed upright, skidding across the sand before coming to a stop.

Despite the feat and the knowledge she had just saved two foals, she found herself given pause. Shit… been awhile since I’ve had to use any pegasi martial arts. My speed and power behind them are gonna send anyone flying, but I’ve never seen what happens to someone when they can’t defend. Poor guy… She spared a moment of pity for the infected human male, her mare instincts recoiling at having killed him even though she knew he was irrevocably lost. Staring at him, she suddenly wondered how much therapy she was going to need after this ordeal was over. Assuming she even survived it.

She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding before turning around to find the twins, who were staring at her in a mixture of awe and wonder.

“R-Rainbow?” Barley murmured at last.

The eighteen year old filly looked like she had been put through the wringer. She was covered in dirt and some scratch marks along her arms and legs, and her feathers were ruffled. The clothes she wore had been torn in some places, exposing her young body in more than a few places, including directly over an immature breast that allowed a small part of the darker area near a snipple to show. But that didn’t disturb Rainbow so much as the broken and bloodied piece of wood she held in her hand.

Her brother, Pickle, was even worse for wear. The colt had multiple bandages around his arms and legs, a another on his head, and his clothing was in even worse shape. The hoodie was ripped apart, his shirt and shorts missing entire chunks that exposed large areas of his boyish butt and belly, and his wings… he was missing several feathers; they looked like they’d been roughly ripped away.

“Yeah, it’s me.” Rainbow approached Pickle and knelt down as Barley rushed over. The colt had fallen to his knee and clutched his side, whimpering in pain.

“How did you two…?” Rainbow started to ask but she shook her head, now wasn’t the time to be questioning things. “Never mind. I’m here. You’re going to be fine. Pickle, can you walk?”

He looked up at her and his leg, which was clad in a bloodied bandage. “N-not very well.”

Rainbow silently cursed and looked to Barley. “Can you fly?”

“I-uh… y-yeah, sorta. But Pickle-”

“But nothing.” Rainbow quickly hoisted Pickle up onto her back and spread her wings. “Hold on, buddy. I’ve got you. Now by Luna’s moon, let’s get out of here before more of them show up.” She waited until Barley took off and then kicked off into the air with a firm grasp on Pickle, ignoring the additional pain and fatigue her heavy wingflaps caused with the additional weight..

“Ugh…” Her adrenaline rush spent, she was feeling even weaker as she flew, only barely able to gain altitude and hoping that she could catch a thermal. . She did her best not to show that she was struggling, but to her relief, the flight difficulties she’d been experiencing didn’t seem to affect the filly at all, so she took advantage of that to get them to safety…

Wherever that was.

ooo000---000ooo

The recoil of the muzzleloading rifle was more than he had initially expected, at least compared to the one he owned back home. It kicked into his shoulder like a mule, but it was a pain he had to endure as the undead ponies closed in from the makeshift medical bay.

The shot he fired zipped through the air and through the head of one of the ponies, snapping it back as a blood curdling gurgle left its maw. It collapsed to the ground, but that still left the rest of the crew of Octavia’s ship.

Without any more ammo within reach, having been pushed back by the undead, he spun the long rifle around and opted to utilize it as a blunt object. If it was crafted out of a decently hardy wood, it would hold up against the monsters currently surrounding them for a time.

Dee cursed as Octavia and Cheerilee were on either side of him, with the CMC making up their inner circle, huddled together and whimpering.

The rest of the undead had decided to leave the bleeding corpse of Mending behind and focused their efforts instead on Dee and the rest.

“Can’t catch a fucking break.” Dee cursed and swung his makeshift club around to his side, readying himself.

Off to the side he saw the lone Wonderbolt who was guarding the place suddenly jump in front of the trio. her wings shot out to the sides, which was followed by a smooth metallic unsheathing sound as several blades appeared along the outer part of her pinions running along the ends of each of her largest feathers.

Wing-blades! Dee identified from one or two fan fiction stories he’d read in the past. As he watched, she also pulled a short sword from her belt, something that looked surprisingly similar to an ancient Roman Gladius.

“All of you, back!” She hollered and took a stance, blades out and ready for use. The undead were not phased by her bravado, as expected, but she stood firm.

“We have to get out of here!” Dee told them as his eyes flicked over to the body of Mending, who now had bloodshot eyes and was slowly rising from the ground, her expression slowly changing from horrified to hungry. “We’re going to get overrun!”

“But isn’t the outside dangerous?!” Cheerilee questioned as she watched the monsters close in, mouths stretched open and groaning.

“Better than being in here.” He countered and held firm on the rifle as he eyed the exit. “We have to go! Now!”

“Captain Spitfire-” Octavia started to say, but Dee cut her off hard.

“Captain Spitfire isn’t here, and I’m not waiting around for her to come back while these freaks try to eat us alive!” Dee shouted again as she shoved past the guardsmare with the rifle raised, and he rushed forward and swung hard at the first undead pony that got in his way.

The hardwood held firm against the skull, which caved it in with surprising force on Dee’s behalf. The shock however rushed through him and into his wounds, forcing a spike of pain through his system, nearly knocking the wind from his lungs.

He felt a hand grab onto his arm and pull him back.

“Don’t be foolish, Dee! You’ll get killed in your current state.” He heard Octavia’s voice as he was pulled against her, his bare back pressed against her chest.

He felt a brief moment’s reprieve before he forced himself to stand, still holding onto the rifle. “Stay back. That’s an order!” The guardsmare directed, fixing with a brief but hard glare before she kicked off of the ground and shot forward with a hard flap of her wings, and shoulder checked one of the undead away and spun around on her heel, raised her leg, and swiftly kicked the other out of the way.

“I can’t just sit around while my friends are out th-there somewhere.” Dee growled out and pushed off of Octavia, while grateful for her help, he still had no desires to wait around here.

He watched as the guardsmare kept forcing the undead back with hard hitting and fast attacks, using both the flat of all of her blades and her own physical prowess, she was able to force them back.

But she made no killing blow.

“Back, you fiends!” The guardsmare yelled and smashed the flat of her blade into the head of one of the undead, causing it to snarl in response.

“Goddammit, stop trying to go easy on them! You have to kill them!” Dee yelled, earning him a shocked look from both Octavia and Cheerilee, and an equally aghast gasp from one of the fillies.

“K-kill? But-” Cheerilee started to stammer, only for Dee to stop her.

“We don’t have fucking time for this.” Dee hissed and using whatever strength he had left, he charged forward and swung the rifle hard into the closest undead.

Despite having killed two already in front of the mares and now brutally killing a third by smashing its skull in, it seemed they were going to have to get used to the idea of killing quickly. But he was so used to it by then, he almost forgot that killing was supposed to be bad.

These ponies were no longer alive, however, they were now ravenous undead… just like the humans that roamed the island.

Once he had dispatched the third, he fought off the agonizing burning pain in his body and threw the rifle into one of the others, knocking it aside as he made a beeline for the crate full of rifles. He grabbed another and the accompanying powder, ball, and so on and proceeded to load it.

“Put that away! It’s dangerous!” The guardsmare shouted at him, but he ignored her.

Once he managed to finish the tedious loading procedure, he took aim at one of the undead.

Mending Hearts was now among them, blood still running from the torn open flesh across her bodysuit, exposing what was once pristine fur and an immaculate, impressively trim body. She was cute before, and he might even ogled her if given half a chance. But now?

But now, she was just another walking corpse that had to be put down permanently.

Despite that, he muttered an apology to the kind healer mare before pulling the trigger, and a resounding boom echoed throughout the bunker as the powder ignited. The gun worked perfectly as the lead ball was sent hurtling towards Mending Hearts, whose head exploded when it made contact. She dropped like a brick, blood gushing from her neck stump.

Dee quickly went about loading another shot as the guardsmare shoved away one of the last infected crew members of Octavia’s ship, and she whirled around to face the human.

“Put the goddess damned firearm down now! You have no idea-”

“Will you just shut up? I know-” He shoved the ball into the rifle, pulled the hammer back, and aimed, “-exactly what I’m doing!”

Another explosion and the ball shot past the guardsmare to emphasize his words, snapping the head off the final infected and killing them.

Once their body hit the floor, Dee went about quickly loading up yet another round.

They were clear now, but he wanted it prepared just in case.

As he did, the guardsmare started to approach him with her blades.

“You murdered them!” She screamed at him, fury in her eyes and every step she took was another indicator of her anger. “How could you!”

He finished loading up the rifle quickly, thankful for his quick hands as he quickly pulled the hammer back and backed up.

“Do not fucking test me.” He told her, and the look in his eyes along with the loaded musket he held stopped in her tracks. “Let me make one thing perfectly clear, lady: I’m not like any stallion from your world, I am not some feeble child that needs to be taken care of and I am most certainly not in the mood to play this stupid goddamn game! So get it through your thick skull here and now that these things are not alive in any capacity. They are undead fucking monsters that want to kill and eat every single one of us!” He shouted in the bunker, his voice nearly breaking at the end.

Words could not describe his anger, the exhaustion and the pain, on top of the adrenaline surging through his system, a deadly cocktail of internal chemicals and emotions that made him feel dizzy and tired, yet hyperactive and focused on one thing.

Find his mares.

His mares?

The guardsmare finally backed away after a few tense moments before she sheathed her blades as the others watched from the safety of the other room, which led outside.

“You are a fool.” She told him.

“I never said I was smart.” He hissed through his teeth as he lowered the rifle before using its strap to sling it over his shoulder, and then looked to the boxes containing the black powder guns. “But I can’t sit around here waiting. Every second I’m stuck in here is another moment going by that I have to worry about my friends, and I am impatient as fuck to find them right now.”

After cooling off some, he felt the adrenaline wearing off and looked at his wounds, at Mending Hearts work. She’d done an excellent job dressing his wound and stitching him up, even giving him some kind of medicine that seemed to work fast—maybe some magical potion she gave him while he was out? Regardless, that had to be why he was able to move around despite having taken the worst beating he’s ever gotten in his life.

Then again, from the constant smackdown from Liam’s men, being shot, abused, and beaten by infected and other monsters, and the near constant exhaustion of running for his life, it was a wonder he was still able to move, let alone function.

He thanked his lucky stars and whatever deity saw fit to keep him going and opted to loot the crates the Wonderbolts had brought with them. It was still theft, considering they came here to rescue the girls, but if he was going to help them at all with possibly getting off of this accursed island, he’d need an edge, and that edge came in the form of black powder rifles and pistols.

He would have preferred semi-auto, but black powder would do for the time being.

Dee let out a small sigh before he went about preparing himself for what was to come.

Still in shock, none of the other mares bothered him as he searched for his clothing, specifically a shirt to cover himself with. Luckily a crate of spare uniforms and clothing was among the other supplies brought by the Wonderbolts. They mostly consisted of food, first aid supplies and the like, though he found it curious why they brought so much for a rescue expedition, especially the firearms.

He acquired a new navy blue shirt that was roughly his size, and then grabbed a bag that was discarded inside of the bunker and checked it for anything useful before deciding to fill it up with some of the supplies. He started with a couple of first aid kits and a couple canteens of water before loading up on powder, percussion caps and ammunition for the guns. For the latter, he grabbed a pair of flintlock pistols that reminded him of English dragoon pistols and stuck them in his waistband. It was the same with the rifle he had, which he found eerily similar to early British flintlock and black powder guns.

He wondered if there was a connection somewhere.

As he set about packing up what he needed, he heard footsteps approaching.

“Excuse me.”

Octavia’s voice drew his attention from his packing and he turned to look at the mare. “What?”

She was idly fidgeting with her shirt sleeve. “You said you knew Vinyl, correct?”

Dee saw Cheerilee and the CMC were nearby the door, all eyeing him and Octavia nervously. He looked from them back to the gray earth pony and nodded. “I do know her. She saved my life…” he remembered the hotel when she appeared out of nowhere with a firearm, utilizing her hardy kicks to help him and Lyra escape. “That’s why I’m going after her. Why do you ask?”He had a feeling why.

“I wish to join you.”

“Join me?” He stood up to eye level with the mare. “You mean-”

“Leave the bunker, yes.” She sighed. “I’ll admit, it is a rather foolish idea, especially if those… things are out there, but if Vinyl is out in that mess, then for the sake of our relationship, I must brave it to find her.”

He sniffed and looked down at his bag. “Octavia, I understand you want to help. But with all due respect, you should probably stay here.” He gestured to the bunker, and to the angry looking Wonderbolt nearby. “The Wonderbolts seem capable of protecting you guys, plus… going out there…” he let his voice trail off.

“Is an idiotic move.” The Wonderbolt grumbled as she glared from her spot in the room.

Octavia spoke up before the human could, eyeing up the Wonderbolt. “I suppose I am an idiot then.” She turned back to Dee and said, “I am aware of the dangers, Dee. I was told how dangerous this entire trip would be. I came knowing full well I may not return home in one piece, but if going out there and facing down those demons means finding my beloved Vinyl? Then so be it.”

A small half chuckle left him as he listened to her, before he zipped up his bag and picked up both it and the rifle. He looked at Octavia and smiled. “Do you know how to fight?”

“I may be a classical musician, but Vinyl and I have gotten into some scraps before… I can hold my own.” She nodded. “I even know how to fire a flintlock.”

He stared at her, gauging the determination and resolve in her violet eyes. To his surprise, he found plenty. “Fine. Gather up whatever you need, and we’ll head out,” he told her before adding, “I have an idea of where they all might be. We were separated, but if they all listened to me, they should still be there.” He hoped, anyway. He knew full well that anything could have happened after they separated, including that they were now all dead or worse than that, infected, but he was still holding out hope.

He took a breath and silently thanked the corpse of Mending Hearts for whatever she did, because despite everything, he was able to move properly again.

As he looked towards Cheerilee and the CMC, he wondered what to do about them.

The Crusaders were young, vulnerable, and had next to no combat experience and were—in the nicest way possible—a liability in a group. He hated that they were here and what they would no doubt experience, but he also knew that there was nothing he could do about it. Except try to make sure that they all came out of this alive..

“Okay, well… we shoul-”

He stopped talking as the ground shook, the slightest tremble in the reinforced concrete floor that gave Dee pause. Normally it wouldn’t matter, just a tremor in the earth; maybe a subterranean volcano off the coast of the island. But given the current circumstances of what he’s seen and faced so far…

“What was that?”

-something told him this was anything but a volcano.

Something outside of the bunker roared and the ground shook once more before the entire structure seemed to shake. Everyone started to look around for whatever it was as Dee raised his rifle, listening to the noises as bits and pieces of the bunker fell from cracks forming above.

Another violent shake and the door to the bunker exploded off of its hinges, warping under the force of something far stronger than incredibly thick steel made to withstand explosions. A gnarled arm reached in and gripped onto the frame of the door before a bulky form forced itself inside, covered in twisted mangled muscle that stretched the skin to the point that it began to tear. A jawless monster stared at the group of ponies and one human as it meandered inside.

The group stared at the hulking beast as it rumbled low in its throat like an old truck.

No one had any chance to say anything before it charged with a mighty roar.